Self-build expert to advise Mid Devon District Council on helping people build their own homes

News Desk
Authored by News Desk
Posted Wednesday, August 15, 2018 - 5:30pm

Mid Devon District Council unanimously agreed to accept expert advice and support from Teignbridge to pave the way for Mid-Devon residents to build their own homes.

The support is being funded through the Government’s new burdens payment for self and custom build. It will be provided by the Right to Build Task Force and experienced self builder, Charles Acland, who is a Right to Build Task Force Expert and Self Build Officer at Teignbridge.

Mario Wolf, Director of the Right to Build Task Force, said:
“In the rapidly evolving field of Custom and Self Build, shared learning and experience is vital to efficiency and success. The Right to Build Task Force is delighted to support Mid Devon District Council’s ambitions by bolstering their technical capacity with the addition of Charles Acland, who will build on the progress already made at Teignbridge towards diversifying the local housing market with Custom and Self Build homes.”
 
Cllr Jeremy Christophers, Teignbridge District Council Leader and Deputy Task Force Ambassador said:
“Leading innovative policy developments as a Government Vanguard for Custom and Self Build, Teignbridge District Council has been at the ‘bleeding-edge’ for 6 years. This means that councils can learn from us and save time. With the support of the Right to Build Taskforce, Councils can bring forward self and custom build plots within three years.

“Working on behalf of the Right to Build Task Force, myself and Charles help Councils identify opportunities and benefits which different forms of Custom and Self Build housing can bring. Teignbridge will help Mid Devon bring custom and self build homes to life, to help accelerate good quality affordable housing supply.”

Charles has a wealth of experience including 30 years working in the construction industry and a first-hand knowledge of the self build journey. He said:
“This work will help MDDC increase the number of planning consents for serviced custom and self build plots, using lessons learned from Teignbridge’s experience over the last 6 years. My role is focussed on 3 main areas: to increase understanding about the benefits of self and custom build with residents, officers and council members; to assist Mid Devon officers’ discussions with developers and landowners to overcome challenges and unlock serviced building plots; and provide support to custom and self build projects on a day-to-day basis.”


Charles will work at Mid Devon for 2 days a month for 6 months initially then as necessary until 31 March 2019.
 
Mid Devon District Council Deputy Leader, Cllr Richard Chesterton, said:
“This provides an excellent opportunity to open up the housing market in Mid Devon, benefitting house buyers and small builders by widening the access to more housing sites within the district.  We look forward to this opportunity to work with the Right To Build Task Force to deliver this for our communities.”

Mid Devon District Council’s Forward Planning Team Leader, Tristan Peat, said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity for Mid Devon. We look forward to the Right To Build Task Force supporting us to help broaden the choice of new homes in the district to meet housing needs and also to help smaller builders access more sites with development potential for housing.”

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